Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Interviewed on Press TV: 'Americans Oppose Libya War'

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, at the State Capital in Lansing on February 3, 2009 covering the Moratorium Now! Coalition demonstration during Gov. Granholm's annual "State of the State" Address. (Photo: Alan Pollock), a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

'Americans oppose war against Libya'

Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:33AM
Click on this URL to watch interview with PANW Editor
http://www.presstv.com/detail/184165.html

Interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan-African News Wire in Detroit

A US Senator has expressed satisfaction with NATO's military operations in Libya as Congress pressures the US government to provide more details about the aims of the war in the country.

In an interview with Press TV, Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan-African News Wire in Detroit, discusses more on the issue.

Press TV: Now first of all, the Senator expressing satisfaction with NATO's military operations, how does one gage success in Libya, considering there is a stalemate there?

Azikiwe: Well, first of all, I believe that Senator Carl Levin (Democratic Party) is not a representative of the sentiment of people here in the Unites States -- neither inside the United States Senate, or the Congress.

We have to remind ourselves that, just one week ago, there were two resolutions that were voted on inside the US Congress, one of which called for the secession of hostilities against Libya within 14 days. That resolution was sponsored by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich (House of Representatives), [which] was voted down with 148 US Congressman voting in favor of that resolution to end the war in two weeks.

There was another resolution that was sponsored by the speaker of the house, who is a Republican, John Boehner (Republican Party), from Ohio, and that resolution, even though it did not call for the immediate halt of US military operations in Libya, did request that the administration come before Congress with detailed a explanation in regard to what was going on in Libya, the amount of money that was being spent there, what the plans were for the conclusion of the mission, and also for the withdrawal of US forces from the airspace of Libya.

Also coming up this week [are] two other resolutions that have been introduced, one in the House of Representatives, and another one in the Senate. The one in the House of Representative is being sponsored by two Congress people, and the one in the Senate is being sponsored [also] by two Senators.

Press TV: The non-binding resolution, that you have mentioned that was passed by Congress, came 18 days after the expiration of Obama's 60-day deadline for declaring war on Libya.

Now, the Congress passed this non-binding resolution, which only called to explain the mission in Libya within two weeks, what's going to happen after two weeks?

Azikiwe: It really remains to be seen. I think the administration is in a panic right now, because the latest polls that have been released indicate that 60 percent of people inside the Unites States oppose this US involvement in the war against Libya.

They said that only 30 percent support the military actions against Libya. And I believe even among the 30 percent, if they have the correct information, if there was a real debate within the cooperate media here in this country and throughout the world, I think the overwhelming majority of the people would be against what's going on in Libya, and that's why the administration is not going before the American people. They will not go before the US Congress, and the US Senate as a whole, because their motivation is strictly designed for imperial aims and objectives.

They want to topple the government in Libya. They have stated this repeatedly, when [US President Barack] Obama was in the UK, and met with the Prime Minster David Cameron, they reiterated that their ultimate objective was to overthrow the Libyan government, and this was not what was supposed to have been done, this was not what was told to the United Nations Security Council members who voted in favor of this resolution, and we knew all along that this was the ultimate objective which was to engage in regime change, and to also take over the resources of that North African state.

Press TV: The Congress' ability to call for an end to the war on Libya, seem to bring into question, the role of the US Constitution and Congress' ability to follow through with it, doesn't it?

Azikiwe: There was no legal or Congressional declaration of the war in Vietnam, a war that lasted for about 14 years that resulted in the death of over 58,000 US troops, over a million Vietnamese. Inside this country the involvement in Vietnam pretty much destroyed many of the urban areas inside the United States. It split the country politically. It created tremendous disaffection among young people, among African Americans, and national minorities in the United States.

And out of that struggle, there was a recognition, even on the part of the United States Congress, that there had to be some control over the ability of the executive branch of the government, the presidency and the White House, to carry out a war, to spend money, not only to kill US citizesn but citizens of foreign nations, without their being at least some type of a recognition of this, or some type of approval of this by the US Congress. And this is the problem right now that the Unites States is facing.

The Obama administration has not been honest at all with the people in this country about what their actual aims are in Libya, and that is why the [US] Representative Ros-Lehtin (Republican Party), who is head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, from Florida, has demanded that Hillary Clinton (US Secretary of State) and the State Department come before the US Congress with a detailed description of what the actual objectives are in Libya.